Pilot Curbside Recycling Program to Launch In May

For the first time since 1999 the City of Yakima will launch a four month curbside pilot recylcling program. Starting in early may about 600 homes will take part in the program. Loretta Zamarkee, Yakima Refuse and Recycling Manager " We know that people in Yakima want to recycle, but they are only interested in a curbside program if it can be provided at a reasonable cost, The best way for us to figure out if that’s possible is to actually run a curbside recycling service on a small scale and for a short period of time.”

The pilot project will run from May 6th through August 29th. The project will be conducted in neighborhoods east and north of Kissel Park . Homes in the pilot project area will receive free curbside recycling during the test period. Each of the approximately 600 homes taking part in the pilot project will receive a 32-gallon garbage cart, a 96-gallon yard
waste cart, and a 96-gallon recycling cart.

Once the pilot project has ended, homeowners who participated in it will be surveyed to find out how curbside recycling worked for them. Survey responses and other data gathered during the pilot project will then be included in a report that will be presented to the City Council in the fall of this year. From that point, the City Council will be asked to make a decision about whether to move forward with a citywide curbside recycling project or not.